So Double or Nothing has come and gone, and what a great pay-per-view to kick off the first show for All Elite Wrestling. Granted, it didn’t blow me away by any means, but it got the job done and more importantly, it has me interested in the next chapter of the all new promotion.
Here’s the thing about AEW, I can’t judge the entire product by these pay-per-views as doing a weekly episodic television program is a different beast than doing pay-per-views. However, my excitement level for AEW is mildly high at the moment. Look, I’m not a hard guy to please. I originally came into the wrestling world around the early 2000’s, which is when WWE was transitioning out of the Attitude era. What drew me into this world is the vast array of characters and the level of storytelling surrounding most of them.
Don’t get me wrong, I will never say that WWE had the quality writing that could be matched by The Sopranos, Breaking Bad, or The Americans, but it was an entertaining affair that kept me glued to the tv on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and whatever other day Smackdown use to come on.
Nearly 20 years later, and I don’t have that same feeling about most of the WWE product anymore. NXT is my favorite thing going regarding WWE, which does include the UK product as well. Hell, the mostly ignored 205 Live makes me feel joy these days as well. I’ll throw New Japan and Impact Wrestling into the mix too. But Raw and Smackdown, I often question why I still watch the main roster brands.
Maybe it’s the loyalty I feel owe I the company. Or hoping that the main roster brands can or will improve. Or my hope that Vince McMahon will be proud that his company is a wrestling product. Yes, I get that sports entertainment has always been WWE’s thing, but until that four-sided ring disappears, the company is very much a wrestling show first, no matter how they try to hide their stripes.
And that’s what All Elite Wrestling needs to do to make me spent two hours of my time weekly watching their product, by being a proud westling company with intriguing characters and engrossing storylines. I want to see X get his (or her) revenge because Y did something dastardly. I wanna laugh, shout, cry, or even curse at the television screen because I’m so enthralled with the story that it makes me react in such a manner.
Most importantly, I wanna be proud to be a wrestling fan because the company I’m watching loves wrestling. That’s something I feel the main roster product is missing the most. I’m not one of those fans looking for AEW or any company to take down WWE.
I want WWE to get better and be around 20 years from now. Same thing with AEW and any other wrestling product. I’m hoping that Vince McMahon can take a step back and finally realize that writing for an audience of one is just not the way to do business creatively.
For now, All Elite Wrestling has my attention. I don’t expect or demand perfection nor do I expect this company to re-invent the wheel in terms of storytelling. However, if AEW can pull off the level of engaging television that’s on par with their highly entertaining shows (if you count All In as well) then I have no doubt that the promotion will keep many viewers attention.